Grain-separator.



W. MAPLE.

GRAIN SEPARATOR. i APPLlcAnoN FILED 1123.6, 1911.

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2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

v INVENTQR WITNx-:ssas

W. MAPLE.I

GRAIN SEPARATOR. APPLICATION FILED FE.6,19l7.

Patented Mar. 19, l9l8.

INVENTOR WITNESSES ATTORNEY WILBERT MAPLE, OF COLLINSVILLE, OKLAHOMA.

eaaiiv-snraaeron.

Specification o Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 19, 1918.

Application led February 6, 1917. Serial No. 145,972.

To all whom t may Concern:

le it known that l, lllinnnn'r MAPLE', a citizen of the United States, residing at Collinsville, in the county of Rogers and State of Oklahoma, have invented new and useful Improvements in Grain-Separatore, of which the following is a specication.

rIhis invention relates to threshing, and more especially to grain separators; and the object of the saine is to separate a larger percentage of grain from the straw before the latter is delivered to the stacker.

This object is carried out by mounting beaters at the` delivery end'of the straw carriers, and suspending behind each beater a grate of peculiar construction. Details of ytl e preferred embodiment of the machine are set forth in the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings wherein Figure 1 is a general sectional view of this segarator complete, showing in dotted lines how one door in the top of the casing may be raised and the grate swung upward through the door-opening.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective detail of one of the grates.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged perspective detail of one of the beaters, and

Fig. 4 is a similar detail of one of the vibrators.

ln the drawings the numeral 1 designates broadly the casing in which is located mechanism yet to be described, but l have considered it necessary to show in detail only the upper part of the casing, the same in the present case having two door-openings in each of which as at 2 is hinged a door 3, capable of being thrown to the rear to eX- pose the interior of the casing from above, as indicated in Fig. 1. Within the front portion of the casing is the threshing mechanism T, which includes a cylinder and concave as usual, and the machine is otherwise provided with the customary elements forming no part of the present invention. ln the present instance l have shown three grain carriers, 4, 5 and 6, each of the endless belt type and with its upper side moving obliquely rearward and upward as indicated by the arrow. rlhe rear or delivery end of one carrier overlies the front end of the neXt, and between them is disposed a check board 7, the same preferably having at each end a hook 8 engaged with a suitable member in the side wall of the casing so as to hold the board in position to prevent the material delivered by one carrier from falling ofi? the front end of the next carrier. Beneath the upper side of each carrier is disposed a vibrator, shown in as consisting of a series of oblong or oval rollers 9 mounted upon a shaft which is rotated at suitable speed, and by this means the upper side of the carrier is knocked or vibrated at rapid intervals to toss or loosen he straw passingl over the same from thi` threshing mechanism.

Coming now more particularly to the details of the invention, in the rear of each carrier is hung a grate whose details are best4 seen in Fig. 2. By preference it is made up of a pair of side bars, each of which has an eye 10 at its upper extremity, is straight as at 11 throughout its upper portion, and

is curved in the rear as at 12 throughout its' lower and probably its major portion; and these side bars are connected by transverse grate bars 13 which are coextensive with the curved portions and need not exist throughout the straight portions, although it would do not harm if they did. Secured behind Vthe major portion of this structure is a shield 14 of sheet iron or the like. T he entire grate is of a size to swing through the opening left by one of the doors 3 in tic top of the casing, when said door is opened as seen in Fig. 1, and for this purpose the door is preferably hinged as at 2 at the rear edge of the opening whereas the grate is hinged at 15 at the front edge of the opening, the support pivotally connecting with the eyes 10 in any suitable manner. When it is desired to inspect, to clean, or to repair the grate, it is only necessary to open the door and swing the grate outward onto the top of the casing 1. Doubtless the dooropening will be sufficiently large to allow the operator to crawl into the saine or at least to reach through the same so that he will have access to other parts on the interior of the machine.

Coacting with each grate is a beater whose detailed construction is best seen in Fig. 3. This beater may well be made of aboard or plank 16, measuring about an inch thick and fourteen inches wide, and the same is mounted rigidly on a shaft 17 eX- tending longitudinally through its transverse center and having a pulley 18 by which it is connected to the driving mechanism se as to impart a quite rapid rotary movement thereto. The shaft is journaled in bearings in the sides of the casing which are so located that the beater as a whole stands within the curved portion of the grate, or in other words, between such portion'and the rearlend ofthe carrier, and out of Contact with both. The grate is so hung that its weight causes it to swing norn mally toward the beater', but it is kept from swinging actually into contact therewith by suitable means such as stop pins 20 in the sides of the casing and against which the lower ends of the side bars strike, as indicated in Fig. l.

Experience has proven that a grain separator of this character may be run at a high rate of speed, whatever the character and condition of the grain beingtreated, and yet it will extract a larger percentage of kernels of grain from the straw than any separator with which I am familiar. From the threshing mechanism the straw passes onto the first carrier, whereon it is tossed bythe vibrating mechanism and carried upward and rearward. Dropping oil its rear end, it falls on the rapidly revolving beater, by which it is thrown against the rearwardly curved portion of the grate, or more accurately speaking, against the slatted or grated portion thereof which stands directly behind the beater, is curved to conform with the cylindrical rpath through which the edges of the beater blade move, and yet is held out of contact with the beater by the stop pins. The more rapid the revolution of the beater and the greater the volume of material thrown by it against the grate, the farther theflatter will be swung to the rear on its hinged support at l5 and therefore the greater the space will be openedbetween the beater and the grate. This prevents choking of the parts, while always subjecting the mass to the blows of the beater which are necessary to extract the kernels.

The latter pass through the grate bars 13y Aand strike the shield 14,7by which they are deflected downward and, passing the check board -7, they fall onto the grain pan and are saved. YMeanwhile the straw and chaff is caught by the check board andV passed to the next carrier by which it is raised, and the operation repeated. I have shown three carriers with two interposed mechanisms as described, but I do not wish to be limited in this respect.

What is claimed as new is 1. In a grain separator, the combination with an endless carrier whose upper side moves to the rear; of a grate pivotally supported at its upper end and with i-ts lower portion slatted and hanging behind the delivery end of said carrier, and a beater rotating in the space between the carrier and said slatted portion.

2. In a grain separator, the combination with a pair of carriers whereof the rear end of one overlies the front end of thel next, of a pendant, swinging grate whose lower portion is curved to the rear and hangs behind the delivery end of the first carrier, and a beater rotating in the space between said carrier and curved portion.

3. The herein describedgrate for grain separators, the same comprising a pair of side bars whose upper portions are straight and whose lower portions are curvedV to the rear, a series of transverse grate bars connecting the curved portions thereof, a sheet metal 'shield secured behind all the grate bars, and meansY for pivotally support-V ing the grate from the upper ends of its side bars.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature. WILBERT MAPLE.

Gopies ofv this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

